Question

Why were official records important for British administration.

Answer 1

Official records of the British administration
serve as important source of history of this
period. The British rulers believed that every
instruction, plan, policy, decision, agreement,
investigation should be clearly written up.
This was necessary for proper study and
debate about an issue. Hence, they carefully
preserved all official records and created
several archives for the purpose.
Is it useful

Answer 2

Detailed surveys were carried out by the British to map all of India, and revenue surveys (to decide how much tax was to be collected from where) were conducted in villages in order to know the topography, the quality of soil, flora, fauna, cropping patterns, etc.By the end of the 19th century, the British had started conducting census operations which provided information about the distribution of population in different provinces, castes, religions, and their occupations.

I hope this helps!  :)